US-Israel axis inches closer to defanging, dethroning Iran
Is Donald Trump’s crackdown on Iran’s nuclear ambitions the final straw to break Tehran's back? Will Israel emerge as the sole regional superpower in the region?
In the latest episode of Worldly Wise by The Federal’s K S Dakshina Murthy, tectonic changes in the Middle East come into sharp focus as Iran finds itself increasingly cornered. With sustained US-Israel pressure and proxy defeats across the region, the Islamic Republic appears weaker than it has been in decades, both militarily and diplomatically.
The episode examines how US President Donald Trump’s aggressive anti-Iran stance has yielded significant strategic results. From the disintegration of Iran’s regional alliances to the prospect of a new nuclear agreement, the geopolitical chessboard is being reshaped—and not in Tehran’s favour.
Watch: Trump’s Middle East visit: Investment, diplomacy, or just drama?
Collapse of Axis
Iran's decades-long effort to build an “axis of resistance”—with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas in Palestine, and the Houthis in Yemen—has begun to collapse. The United States, with Israeli backing, has systematically neutralised each of these pillars.
Hezbollah’s top leadership, including Hassan Nasrallah, has been wiped out in precision Israeli strikes. Hamas suffered a devastating blow when its former prime minister Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran itself. Syria’s al-Assad government, long supported by Iran, fell to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a US-deemed terrorist group, which seized Damascus late last year.
“Iran has lost its biggest regional ally,” says Dakshina Murthy, referring to Syria’s fall. “The Houthis, under intense US bombing, have also agreed to stand down in the Red Sea.”
Tehran cornered
With its allies neutralised, Iran is now exposed. The Trump administration, while resisting Israel’s demands for a direct strike on Tehran, is pushing for a nuclear deal that essentially defangs Iran. Interestingly, this comes after Trump had walked out of the 2015 nuclear agreement signed under Barack Obama.
Also read: Iran, US conclude 4th round of talks over Tehran's nuclear programme
Although Iran has agreed to resume talks, it has refused to completely abandon its nuclear programme. It has, however, offered to open its facilities even to US inspectors, showing the extent of pressure Tehran is under.
“Iran is weakened like never before,” says Dakshina Murthy. “Its key backers—Russia and China—are preoccupied elsewhere. Russia is tied down in Ukraine, and China is locked in a rivalry with the US.”
Will Iran's loss be Israel's gain?
This dramatic regional reset has clear winners. Chief among them is Israel, now unchallenged militarily and politically. With Iran’s nuclear programme potentially rolled back, Israel is on track to become the region’s only nuclear-armed state, even though it has never officially acknowledged it.
The US has ensured that power dynamics favour Israel. “Whether it’s Trump or any US president, the policy has remained consistent: secure Israel’s dominance,” observes Murthy.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey are also poised to gain, especially with a weakened Iran no longer commanding the Shia crescent. A Sunni power rise seems imminent.
Also read: Iran must stop all kinds of nuclear enrichment, says Marco Rubio
Internal risks in Iran
The fall of its regional power network has domestic implications for Iran too. There are now questions about whether the country’s 46-year-old Islamic regime will survive the loss of its strategic depth and international leverage.
While Iran remains defiant publicly, its concessions in nuclear talks signal a government that may be negotiating under duress.
As Dakshina Murthy concludes, “These early signs suggest the Islamic Republic may now be at its most vulnerable since 1979.”
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